


Legend of the Borderlands

by Vxnatori



Series: The Legend of the Borderlands [2]
Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra, Borderlands
Genre: F/F, F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-06-13
Updated: 2015-08-01
Packaged: 2018-04-04 04:32:44
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,301
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4125616
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vxnatori/pseuds/Vxnatori
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A bunch of drabbles of the events before during and after Mecha Tempest. Highly recommend you read Mecha tempest before reading this.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So since MT just passed 9k hits I decided to go ahead and break out a chapter. Yay! I for went my beta on this one so yeah lol

"Korra put that down, what the hell?" Asami shouted.

"Why won't you let me help you?" Korra grumbled.

"You aren't helping me if you're literally a being of pure Eridian energy playing with a damned blowtorch!" Asami strode over to Korra, snatching the metal pipe from her hand before returning to her workbench to finsh tweaking her new prototype glove.

"I can control myself!" Korra aggressively folded her arms and plopped onto a nearby stool. Everything loose and smaller than a shield generator popped into the air and stayed there, suspended in place.

" _I can control myself._ " Asami mimicked. "You've only been a Sentinel for a few days, Korra. You have to be careful." She shook her head and let out a heavy sigh. She dropped her tools hoping they'd bounce with a clang for emphasis but they, like everything else, just floated in mid-air. She stood up in one fluid and deliberate motion, pushing aside her drawing pencil that nearly poked her in the cheek. "Hang on before you put everything back down I wanna make sure you don't blow up anything else. Again."

"I meant to do this. Now I can watch while you walk around in your work pants." Korra's uneasy frown quickly changed to a smirk as she watched Asami flow through the garage turned obstacle course.

"If I weren't a Siren I swear to god I wouldn't be able to take this." Asami focused on trying not to swing her hips while she walked around the garage, pushing wrenches and screws and other odds and ends out of her way. She moved to the more unstable equipment and placed it in a better position for the inevitable drop. "Like I know if I'd be floating if I weren't a Siren. I just might be too heavy." Asami mumbled to herself.

"If you weren't a Siren, it would've been hi and bye at the Happy Pig Motel bounty board." Korra pulled her feet onto the rails of the stool.

"I doubt it." Asami scoffed, now with arms full of small containers. She set them down on top of a glowing purple barrel. "You'd have probably chased me to the ends of Pandora." Asami placed her hands on either side of the barrels sealed top and pushed it onto the floor. She took a quick look above her, making sure nothing would stab her once Korra made the gravity work again. "Alright drop it."

Korra stared at Asami, arms still folded and eyes narrowed and aimed at the floor.

"You don't know how to put it back down do you?" Asami's hair flowed over her shoulders as she stared up at the tool covered wall.

"You honestly think I wouldn’t have been able to take a hint?" Korra asked her gazed focused on Asami.

"Wait, what?" Asami's brow folded in confusion as turned turned her head back to Korra.

"You said you doubted that it would just be hi and bye if you weren't a Siren.... You think I'm only around cause you're a Siren?" Korra let one of her boots slide down the leg of the stool and onto the wooden floor.

"I don't think you knew that soon." Asami squinted her eyes trying to remember. "Even still, I just said th--"

"It doesn't matter, Asami! You think I'm only here cause you're a Siren." Korra stood, arms still folded.

"Korra, what are you getting at?" Asami asked, flattening a hand on the center of the barrel and resting the other on her hip.

"Asami, you're beautiful." Korra nearly whispered. She approached Asami, covering the Sirens hands with her own. "You're the most beautiful person I've ever known."

"Korra..." Asami started, but was hushed by Korra's finger against her lips.

"No, let me finish," Korra smirked. She slowly lowered her finger to Asami's chin. "Asami, you..., you, uh... you're the best, babe."

"You're trying really hard to figure out how to put everything back down aren't you." Asami smirked.

"Asami, I'm not worried about that stuff, I'm talking about you, girl." Korra winked. She dropped a hand to her side and waved it around subtly, hoping that everything floating around the garage would finally fall.

"Korra, I'm sure if you just leave for a second and come back everything should be fine." Asami sighed, grabbing for Korra's flailing hand and pressing it still against her side.

Korra looked at Asami, defeat clear on her face. "Yeah, I guess you're right." Korra sighed. "I just wanted to try to help. You looked so happy when you were building guns with your dad. I just wanted to, you know, make you happy like that by trying to learn this stuff and help you. Guess it's just bad timing."

"Don't you dare get all depressed on me again, I will tell Tina." Asami smirked. Korra's lip poked out in a pout. Asami brushed a loose strand of hair back behind Korra's ear. "It's sweet that you want to help, Korra, but you're right. The timing is wrong. Your powers are much more powerful than mine were when I was still figuring them out. You could really end of killing us both if you try to help right now."

"No need to patronize me, I know when I'm not wanted." Korra rolled her eyes as she headed for the door. Her boots dragged against the hardwood. She had already dug a fist into her pocket when Asami turned from the barrel and hugged Korra tightly from behind. Asami's grip was unusually tight, and the smell of motor oil unusually strong. Korra peered down, noticing black seeping into her shirt. "You're getting oil on me, Asami." Korra mumbled.

"Thank you for wanting to help. I'll show you how to do this one day so you can. Just figure your Sentinel powers out first." Asami buried her face in the back of Korra's shoulder. Korra was always so warm, this time was no different. She seemed to radiate it now that she's an Eridian Vault guardian incarnate. Maybe it was her being a Siren that she could feel it or maybe it had been there all along.

"Fair enough." Korra replied, her smile was audible. Asami released her from the embrace, the warmth retreating as well. Asami wound back and smacked Korra hard on the ass as she began to walk out. Korra jumped, and everything in the garage came crashing down, including the purple barrel and everything on it.

Thick glowing purple oozed out of its now toppled over container and headed for the things Asami sat on top of it. Her eyes glowed purple and slowed the flow of spillage as well as everything else around her. She quickly moved to sit the barrel upright, pushing it back from the top. She was startled when a second pair of hands began to help.

Korra quickly got the barrel to stand and picked up everything else on the floor. She turned to Asami whose eyes were wide and fading back to green.

Korra rose an eyebrow, standing in confusion as Asami stared nearly slack jawed. She shifted all Asami's things into one arm and pointed at them with her other hand. "Sooooo, where do you want these?"


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shoot this guy in the face

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Probably my favorite mission in the borderlands series ever

"IN THE FACE!" 

Asami stood with folded arms in front of a Psycho who bounced back and forth in a very repetitive pattern begging her, well he was yelling before she showed up, to shoot him in his face. She had already ECHOed Korra who decided to take advantage of the slabs apparent endless amounts of soldiers to figure out what her Sentinel abilities actually do. She had also said something about finding the nest of a really big thresher but never getting a chance to actually ‘examine’ it. 

"IN THE FACE! NOT SO COMPLEX! NEED IT! WANT IT NEED IT HAVE TO HAVE IT! FACESHOT! BOOM! BRAINS EVERYWHERE!" He shouted. Asami lifted an eyebrow. As she slowly approached the wildly pacing bandit. "Not the KNEE, not the ARM, not the SPINE - FACE! IT HAS TO HAPPEN! HNNNNG! FACEY FACEY FACE FACE! TIRED OF WAITING! NO MORE WAITING! NEED A FACE SHOT! BOOM! SQUISH! YAY!" He spat. Asami was within arms reach of him, he had an impressive white Mohawk but other than that, looked like any other psycho.

"But... why?" Asami asked. "You'll more than likely die."

"FAAAAAAAACEEEEEEEE" he retorted. 

Korra darted across the shrapnel bridge and down the hill behind Asami, glowing golden Future Industries SMG in hand. "You okay?" Korra breathed as her eyes darted back between Asami and the screaming psycho.

"Apparently this guy wants someone to shoot him in the face." Asami answered. "And unfortunately guns aren't my thing."

"SHOOT ME IN THE FACE! IN THE FAAAAAAAACE! DO IT! SHOOT ME IN THE FACE! FACE FACEFACEFACEFACE! NOW! BULLETS IN THE FACE! WANT EM! NEED EM! GIMMEGIMMEGIMME!"

Korra's brow folded in confusion. "I've seen some crazy bastards, but this guy here.... Oh he's got a mission." Korra spread her HUD out in front of her in a wave of blue light. "This colorful fella's name is Face McShooty. Go figure."

"What's his mission?" Asami tried to read through Korra's HUD.

"To... shoot him in his face." Korra rolled her eyes. "No in the arm, not in the leg, not in the chest... in the face." Korra sighed as she closed her HUD. 

"AT THE SOUND OF THE BELL IT WILL BE FACESHOOTING O'CLOCK! BONGGGGG!" 

"But that's kinda gonna kill you, dude." Korra argued.

"KNOCK KNOCK WHO'S THERE SHOOT ME IN THE FACE! END OF JOKE!"

""The reward is actually pretty nice, couple thousand bucks." Korra mumbled. "How long has he been doing this?" Korra turned back to Asami.

"Since before I got here." Asami shrugged. 

"I'M GONNA SING A SONG! SHOOT ME AT THE END OF IT! DA DA DA DA DA DA DA! BONG!!"

Korra shouldered her SMG and pointed at the pacing psycho. She looked down her sights and centered the psycho between them. She put her finger on the trigger. She sighed and lowered her weapon. "I don't feel right about this one, somehow."

"You've killed hundreds of people involuntarily. Now there's one guy who's basically begging you to kill him suddenly your morality kicks in?" Asami folded her arms impatiently.

"Basically." Korra shrugged. "Can't we just leave him? Let the slabs shoot him in the face?"

"You'd fail your mission." Asami pointed out.

"I don't need the money anymore I live off of you now remember?" Korra grinned. "And before you argue, the insurance money you're collecting after I killed your father is helping Future Industries get off the ground. And! All the free advertising since all I use is this smokin' hot SMG that my smokin' gf, and her bitch ass father, cooked up for me.... But, yeah, I don't really need the money"

"...I NOTICE YOU HAVEN'T SHOT ME IN THE FACE! CURIOUS AS TO WHY! Maybe you're weighing the moral pros and cons but let me assure you that OH MY GOD SHOOT ME IN THE GODDAMNED FACE!! WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR!?!"

Korra and Asami both turned to the raving mohawked psycho. Asami turned to Korra. "Well there's your morality pass."

"I suppose it is." Korra sighed. She lifted her gun and quickly shot the psycho right between the eyes.

His head exploded violently but somehow he still managed a "THANK YOU!" before the rest of his body crumpled to the ground. 

A mission complete marker hovered over his lifeless body. Korra opened her HUD with the message, 'You shot him in the face.' along with the details of the reward. She accepted and turned back to Asami and she to Korra. They held each others equally confused gaze for a few seconds.

"I think I might need a drink." Korra swung her gun over her shoulder as she walked away, rubbing the back of her head.

Asami followed, shoving her hands into her pockets "Me too."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All thatl yelling is actual canon dialogue for those that don't know


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Remeber when Korra randomly had Eridium?

“There’s nothing out here.” Korra heaved a sigh as she perched on top of a powerline post. The hot breeze offered little relief from the harsh sun as it swirled over her bare arms, carrying her dark hair with it. Her elbow settled onto her knee and her chin in her cupped hand as she blew a loose tuft of hair out of her face. How long she had been sitting and watching over the sand and dirt covered expanse, she didn't know; she lost track a long time ago. Her idle hands longed for activity. Usually any mission given out in the Headlands was exciting - complete with car or runner races, or blowing stuff up. If not, it was duller than hell, like it was then. This usually led to nothing but sitting, waiting, and looking for stuff that was either impossible to find or probably didn’t exist. 

The day’s mission was finding some ruin and bringing back the pretty rocks from it.

The bounty hunter had already circled the Headlands twice, getting tangled both times in car chases and bandit fights that just seemed to lead her around the base of the mountain that towered over the rest of the dusty wasteland. One camp led her around to another, and another still. Korra had even scored a pretty awesome assault rifle from the scuffle and currently had more ammo than she could carry. Looking for a ruin wasn’t very high on the priority list during the first two go arounds if she was being honest. 

If she were still being honest, how could she say no to wiping out bandits? 

Korra pulled up her HUD, digging the heels of her worn leather boots into the wooden post of the powerline. She reviewed her mission again, this time taking the time to read the long essay attached to it. Her eyes skimmed over it, looking for any key descriptive words, a more detailed location, coordinates, landmarks..., perhaps even a picture by chance. The dry desert heat was taking its toll. She licked her chapped lips as she dragged her forearm across her forehead, wiping away the beads of sweat that threatened to fall into her eyes while she read.

“Luminous rocks of various colors..., dah dah dah.” Korra muttered as she scanned over the mission briefing. Her eyes darted back and forth over the blue lines of holographic text the HUD projected. The transparent holographic screen circled around Korra's front, displaying her equipment, accepted missions, missions in progress and her map. Just another gift from working with the Vault Hunters of New Haven. Just the thought of the Vault brought a smile to her face. Granted, word was that it wasn't much of a find as far as rarities or even quantity, and the guardians that protected it freaked her out, but the adventure that led there was worth it enough. Besides, whatever was in there had to have sold for a pretty penny, something she could use a lot more of at the moment. 

“...Found in abandoned Dahl digsite…. Northern Central Headlands. Thank the fucking spirits.” Korra cheered as she hastily closed her HUD. The screen fell away with a sweeping motion as she spun around on the post and dropped, wrapping her body around it so she could slide down. Her feet hit the ground with a thud, kicking up thick clouds of dust.

She climbed into the bandit technical she had commandeered for avoiding traveling far on foot in the desert. Hell, where on Pandora wasn’t a fucking desert? She might as well keep the damn thing. The vehicle was pretty large, and ridiculous. Extravagant might be a better word. The grey bandit technical was half rusted but whoever had it first made it work. The paint job was well polished in the front, and moved to flames towards the middle that gave the illusion that the flames burned in the rust in the back. It was a nice touch, but if it were up to her, Korra would have just painted the whole thing blue with orange and white racing stripes.

The rest of the extravagance came from all the ridiculous accessories tacked onto the thing; exhaust pipes as tall as she was, hydraulics that could launch a light runner into orbit, a chrome grill with two flamethrowers poking out of it and a loudspeaker. Korra shrugged. It was the only vehicle that survived the first go around and did pretty well on the second, so she held onto it. She jumped into the driver's seat and started it up. A roar erupted from both the engine and the loudspeaker and caused Korra to flinch, who was still not used to it yet. Flames shot out of the pipes in the back and the runner suddenly rocked before nearly jumping back and forth from its back to its front wheels. After a few seconds it settled with a hiss, like air being released. Korra sat in the driver's seat, white knuckles wrapped tight around the steering wheel.

"That was cool... and terrifying." Korra pried a hand off the wheel to switch the car in gear and headed for the waypoint she’d marked on her map.

\---

The contorted metal stairs looked familiar. She might have bounced some heads off them on her laps around the area but not noticed them then. They led up to two parallel catwalks that met at the controls for a lift. The area didn't look much like a dig site besides the stairs. None of the digging equipment remained -there weren't any drills, mining equipment, just the walkway and stairs and the few dead bandits that littered them. 

Korra whipped her rifle out and scanned around for any other bandits hiding along the metal platform her boots clunked against. The silence was eerie, the only sounds were the beating of thin webbed wings against the air and faint squawking as rakks circled above, looking for their next meal. She squinted and peered up at them to make sure they hadn't decided to swoop and dive bomb her. She'd rather get hit by a runner than by one of those flying cinder blocks again. Her eyes followed the rakks as the creatures flew off, presumably to scavenge a meal from another one of the piles of bodies she left behind.

She approached the controls, which showed that the lift had already been called to the top. Taking a good look around to make sure she wasn't being followed or watched, she rounded the panel to activate the lift. Her fist punched the button on the panel. The green light turned red with a audible click and beep as the lift lowered her. Light seemed to get sucked out of the cavern like a vacuum as she descended underground. She swallowed the lump in her throat as her hand traveled back to her rifle, ready to fill whoever or whatever was down this hole with an ungodly amount of lead. "No time for fear." Korra breathed. She closed her eyes, sucked in a deep breath and held it. Her mind focused on the hum of the lift as it dropped.

A near thunderous boom echoed, rattling the ground and nearly pulling Korra's soul from her body, she leaped backwards with a yelp and opened fire at the nearest... cave wall. Red crept onto her cheeks.

It was the lift damn near crashing into the ground.

Korra's eyes darted about, noticing a few bandits reacting to her rifle fire. She sighed, relieved. She never liked dealing with this Eridian shit. It always put her on edge. Ever since she’d tried to follow the Vault Hunters into the Vault, she wanted to distance herself as far away from anything Eridian as possible. But she would tolerate it for now to score some extra coin. The bandits jeered their rehearsed banter that Korra probably knew better than they did. There weren't many; A big guy and two medium guys. They pulled out their weapons and began to fire. Bullets flew all over, none very close to her, however - Bandits aim was usually more laughable than their vocabulary. Korra lifted her gun and dispatched the trio with three quick bursts between the eyes. She reloaded, pocketing the old clip but opting for a full one for whatever came ahead. 

Korra looked up, and finally registered that the cave walls had some sort of a light source, lighting the cavern beautifully. All the colors melded together, green to blue to purple. She also noticed with a sniff that the air seemed a bit more breathable, clean and kind of fragrant. Korra carefully stepped off the lift and down the set of stairs. She wasn't sure how much walking she did consciously as much as her feet carrying her on their own. It felt almost trancelike. She looked ahead to another passage behind the rock wall. The light looked brighter and more saturated down there. Korra stayed mindful to keep her both hands on her gun and her mission in mind as she wandered. Beautiful as it was, this was Pandora. No telling what was down here, she decided. She just needed to find some rocks and get the hell out.

Korra carefully rounded the corner, rifle barrel first. She half expected to see white, lanky, winged creatures flying and squealing and shooting plasma or some other pandoran wildlife (which would most likely want to kill her, because Pandora), but nothing was there. Just white rock and the walls and floor, broken stone tomes with some type of writing, three statues and an empty temple with an empty weapons chest near the back. 

Somebody had been here already.

"Probably the Vault Hunters," Korra mused as she strode into the temple. She looked up at the three statues of those Eridian creatures; long limbs, weird heads, and plasma shooters. Nothing she wanted to deal with. She looked around for anything shiny enough to take back with her. Her eyes swept over the area as she walked. She strolled over to the back of the cave and kneeled as she checked behind the weapons chest and found markings low on the wall. Maybe this was the language of the guardians. She's never really seen it before but it was interesting. They weren't recognizable words, instead they were symbols and carefully placed lines. Something about it seemed familiar but she couldn't wrap her head around what was familiar about it. It tugged at the back of her mind as she found herself hesitantly reaching out for it. She let her hand fall, knuckles gently brushing the light gravel on the ground. That wasn't what she was here for. Curiosity killed the skag; she just needed to get some loose rocks and leave before something showed up. 

She shook her head and rose to her feet. "Fucking weird ass Eridians." Korra sucked her teeth before turning around and meeting purple... fur? And gray, lanky, long limbed armor. She followed the armor up find the head operating the bug like creature. Two dark eyes, deep and absolutely black, stared down at her. Cold washed over her body followed by a wave of numbness. She suddenly couldn't remember how to raise her gun, or move for that matter. She just hoped the ability to breathe wouldn't escape her, that was starting to get a bit hard to do. 

The creature studied Korra, looking her over once before stepping forward. Korra's reflexively took a step back against the wall as she studied it back. Her hand pressed against the wall and a new wave a warmth filled her body. Korra silently prayed, hoping it'd be enough to spring her armed hand to life and shoot the humanoid cricket...thing in the face. As suddenly as the warmth came, so did a tingly sensation, as if undoing the numbness. She looked into the Eridian's eyes and saw the outline of herself in front of a bright light breaching the rocks she stood against. 

"Sentinel." The creature's 'voice' boomed inside her head, almost respectfully. It slowly lifted a hand to point at the wall and it’s eyes followed, as if it wanted her to look as well. Korra obliged as she slowly turned her head. The light around her hand was blood red but faded to the gold that covered the rear wall. Markings that were either hidden from wear or just hidden appeared on the wall- more symbols and lines she didn't understand. She studied them all, top to bottom to see if she could make any of it out. 

Nothing made any sense.

"What does any of this mean?" Korra asked, hoping for an answer from her cricket ally behind her, but got nothing. She turned but no one was there, just two glowing purple bricks in the place where the cricket had stood. Eridian gold probably. Korra's hand slumped against the wall in disappointment. "Should've seen that coming." she sighed. She turned back to the wall and replaced her hand, but nothing happened. "Saw that coming, too."

She sighed as she sauntered over to the rocks: her mission. Her hand hovered over them, cautious that she didn't get injured (or explode) from touching them. She expected to feel the same heat from the wall as she picked it up, but felt nothing. It felt cool, like any other rock off the ground. Korra's eyes swept over the luminescent stone. It was just a rock. A glowy rock. She looked forward to whatever Tannis wanted to do with the stuff. She wanted to know what this stuff was capable of, and whatever the fuck a Sentinel was. Korra placed one of the ingots in her bag and the other in her pocket with a grin. Tannis never asked for all the rocks.


End file.
